The Virginia Standards of Learning Scope and Sequence Guide for
Mathematics lists a number of word problem solving skills that all
students need to master by eighth grade. These skills include using
problem solving, mathematical communication, mathematical reasoning,
and solving multistep practical problems involving whole numbers,
decimals, and fractions by using estimation strategies.

The number and range of skills necessary for successful word problem
solving cause many students difficulty with this area of mathematics.
Specifically, students must read independently; understand vocabulary;
separate relevant information; visualize, restate a problem, and
hypothesize a solution (Landi, 2001); choose the correct operation(s);
estimate the answer; write the correct numbers accurately and legibly;
solve the problem; and express the answer in the correct unit.

Helpful Approaches

The following approaches may help support students with disabilities
in solving math word problems.

1. Provide daily problem-solving opportunities in the context
of students' lives. Have students make up their own word problems
and solve them. Using students' names, events in their lives, and
the math skill being taught in word problems increases attention
and lessens language-based problems.

2. Practice specific skills such as determining the critical
information without having students actually solve problems.
Use examples like the one at the beginning of this article, and
ask students to look only for the sentence that contains the question,
or only for the quantity words, or only for the clues that indicate
the necessary operation. This approach benefits students with memory
and metacognition difficulties.

3. Provide from the concrete, to the representational, to the
abstract. Begin by providing manipulative-models or objects
for your students to manipulate-as they solve word problems. Some
students may find it helpful to act out the word problem. Then move
to the representational level by using drawings to illustrate key
pieces of information given in problems. When students are ready,
move to the abstract level. Students with abstract reasoning and
visual spatial deficits will benefit.

4. Teach problem-solving strategies. Strategies have
four to seven sequential steps and a mnemonic to help students remember
them. Each step of the strategy must be carefully explained, modeled,
and practiced. A strategy is introduced after the concept is mastered.
Strategies serve as scaffolds, promoting student independence in
using a series of steps they already understand. The strategy reminds
students of what comes next in a process and would benefit students
with attention, memory, and metacognitive deficits.

A number of strategies are described in the Math VIDS materials
available in CD and web form. The website is http://etv.jmu.edu/mathvidsr.
Enter the user word vateacher and the password mathhelp to access
the information. Every school in the Commonwealth has the CD. Examples
from the website follow.

The SOLVE strategy is a general problem-solving
strategy that can be applied to a variety of word problems including
whole numbers, fractions, and decimals.

S tudy the problem

O rganize the facts

L ine up the plan

V erify your plan with computation

E xamine your answer

The RIDE strategy is another general problem-solving
strategy.

R ead the problem correctly

I dentify the relevant information

D etermine the operation and unit for expressing the
answer

E nter the correct numbers & calculate, then check
the answer

Recognizing that math word problem solving is a complex process
and requires multiple skills will help us to be more analytical
the next time we encounter a student having difficulty solving word
problems. By using the approaches and strategies suggested here
and in other sources, we can help our students conclude that Forrest's
probability of choosing a caramel candy when he picks his first
piece is 1 out of 3.

References

Landi, M. (September, 2001). Helping students with learning disabilities
make sense of word problems. Intervention in School and Clinic,
37(1), 13-18.